Virginia: 12-year-old girl says white classmates forcibly cut her dreadlocks

Amari Allen said three boys grabbed her at the school playground and told her that her hair was ‘nappy’ and she was ‘ugly’

Guardian staff and agencies

Fri 27 Sep 2019 16.29 EDT

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‘They put my hands around my back, put their hands over my mouth and started to cut my hair,’ said Amari Allen.

‘They put my hands around my back, put their hands over my mouth and started to cut my hair,’ said Amari Allen. Photograph: Karin Dreyer/Getty Images/Tetra images RF

Three preteen boys at a Christian school in Virginia are accused of pinning down a black classmate and forcibly cutting off some of her dreadlocked hair while telling her she was ugly, it emerged this week.

Twelve-year-old Amari Allen said the three boys were white and grabbed her in the playground at the school, where they are all pupils in the same grade at Immanuel Christian school, in Springfield, Virginia.

Vice-president Mike Pence’s wife, Karen, also happens to teach there part-time.

The girl has stayed away from the school since the incident on Monday.

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“They said my hair was nappy and I was ugly,” she told local news teams, using a term which is typically taken as a racial insult by African Americans, directed at the nature of their hair.

“They put my hands around my back, put their hands over my mouth and started to cut my hair,” said the 12-year-old.

Her grandmother said she enrolled Amari in the private Christian school expecting a safe experience.

“I never thought of bullying being a part of the curriculum,” Cynthia Allen said, according to local news reports.

A police report has been filed and the family has met with school officials.

“It was like she just died. That’s how painful it was for me,” Allen said.

Amari’s grandfather also described the trauma of hearing her account of what happened.

“My heart just broke,” he said. “I was just paralyzed. I couldn’t get myself together.”

The family said officials at the school told them to pray about the incident and have declared themselves unsatisfied with the handling of the incident.

The school issued a statement.

“We are deeply disturbed by the allegations being made, and are in communication with the family of the alleged victim to gather information and provide whatever support we can. We have also reached out to law enforcement to ask them to conduct a thorough investigation.”

Amari speculated charitably about the boys’ behavior.

“Something could have happened that made them do this, because I know that’s the source of most bullying.” she said.

Big Boss

@escapedmatrix

Three white boys attacked 12-year-old Amari Allen, held her hands behind her back, and cut her dreadlocks.

Second Lady @KarenPence

, wife of VP Mike Pence, teaches part-time at #ImmanuelChristianSchool. We will protest in Virginia if this isn't handled.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38903366)

Amari Allen says three white boys held her down and cut her “ugly, nappy” dreadlocks in a playground at a Virginia private Christian school Monday.

The 12-year-old “straight A” student and violin player alleges that while telling her she “should not have been born,” one of the boys covered her mouth, another held her head, and the third took scissors and cut her locs.

The attack happened Monday at the Immanuel Christian School in Springfield in Northern, Virginia where tuition is $12,000 a year.

It would be a couple of days before her family would notice and she’d tell what happened. “Everybody’s telling me to keep calm,” her mother Cynthia Allen said. Allen said the school wanted the incident kept off social media.

The school claims they’re investigating but has shut down all its Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Amari Allen Cried Recounting the Assault & Said She’s Been Bullied For Weeks

In an interview with a local news station, the 12-year-old wept as she described the assault and the said, “Sometimes I think I don’t deserve to be there …at a Christian school and everything and that I’m ugly …”

Allen said the three white boys have relentlessly bullied her, taken her lunch, called her names and hen, the attack on the playground.

“They were all around me and then one of them put (his) hand behind my back, one of the them covered my mouth” and the third, used scissors to “cut out big chunks” of her hair.

The family has asked for prayers and justice.

“Please pray for the Allen Family… We all need strength for my niece Amari Allen. She has been bullied at Immanuel Christian school in Springfield, VA. Three White boys decided to hold her down and cut her hair stating it is UGLY and NAPPY.. Please SHARE We calling for JUSTICE😢”

2. Allen’s Aunt Zyonn Allen Posted a Recording With a School Official Who Said Adults Were Present

Allen’s aunt played a video of a phone call from the school where she’s asked to “do the Godly thing and keep it off social media.”

Allen wrote that, “All three white boys were still in school today, none were suspended/expelled or even approached.”

On the recording a woman can be heard saying the school is “doing everything we can to handle it the right way that honors his family …”

When asked if there were adults on the playground the woman says, “Yes, there were adults out there and I’m sure …I mean we don’t tolerate that kind of thing.”

“…I don’t want to say too much but we’re working on getting to the bottom of it,” the school official is heard saying.

3. Immanuel Christian School, Which Has Shuttered All Its Social Media Accounts, Said it Doesn’t ‘Tolerate’ Bullying or Abuse

MORE: From Immanuel Christian School #fox5dc pic.twitter.com/XvIrQ4TsPX

— Tisha Lewis FOX 5 DC (@TishaLewis) September 26, 2019

The Daily Beast reported, that Cynthia Allen said she met with school officials Thursday “to demand the three boys be removed and updated policies be put into place to ensure ‘this doesn’t happen again.’ Allen also said Amari filed a police report.”

The school sent a statement to the Daily Beast which in part read, “We take seriously the emotional and physical well-being of all our students, and have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of bullying or abuse.”

The school said it “reached out to law enforcement to ask them to conduct a thorough investigation, and further inquiries should be directed to the Fairfax County Police Department.”

4. Immanuel Christian School Prohibits Any LGTB ‘Behavior’ in its Students or Their Families. Second Lady Karen Pence Works at the School as a Part Time Art Instructor

GettyNATIONAL HARBOR, MD – FEBRUARY 22: Karen Pence, wife of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, speaks during CPAC 2018 February 22, 2018 in National Harbor, Maryland. The American Conservative Union hosted its annual Conservative Political Action Conference to discuss conservative agenda.

As was first reported by the Huffington Post, Karen Pence began a part-time job teaching art at Immanuel Christian School in January. The school prohibits “sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity, promoting such practices,” and says a “healthy marriage (is) between one man and one woman.”

In its “parent agreement,” the school states that can refuse admission or expel a student if “the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home, the activities of a parent or guardian, or the activities of the student are counter to, or are in opposition to, the biblical lifestyle the school teaches. This includes, but is not limited to contumacious behavior, divisive conduct, and participating in, supporting, or condoning sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity, promoting such practices, or being unable to support the moral principles of the school. (Lev. 20:13 and Romans 1:27.) I acknowledge the importance of a family culture based on biblical principles and embrace biblical family values such as a healthy marriage between one man and one woman. My role as spiritual mentor to my children will be taken seriously.”

5. A GoFundMe Was Created to Support Amari Allen, the ‘Victim of a Hate Crime.’ The Family is Taking Legal Action

A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help Allen.

“This is a fundraiser to raise money for Amari Allen, a 12-year-old girl in Virginia who was the victim of a hate crime this Monday when three white six grade students held her down, called her derogatory names and forcibly cut her dreadlocks on the playground. I reached out to the family and setup this fundraiser in hopes we can raise money for this poor child so she can get therapy, time off from school or whatever her and her family need. We will post updates as the campaign grows. Please help us make Amari’s story go viral as a testament that this type of racist behavior will NOT be tolerated and she has the support of folks near and far<3. try to imagine if that had been you …”

Meanwhile, the Allen family, show filed a police report, is considering legal action.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38903485)

however, it’s more likely that these boys are just bullying a kid they don’t like and her hair is just an easy target.

this is how mean kids and people act. but were this racially motivated, then id want evidence that these boys have no black friends and other instances of just focusing their meanness on black classmates

that won’t be part of this story, however.

what is most likely? that this girl is ugly and considered to be a loser by the bullies. those are traits that get you bullied, not race. only in the movies do hot minorities have to deal with overt racism

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38904364)

12 year olds are in 6th or 7th grade, aren’t they?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38904432)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/virginia-sixth-grader-now-says-she-falsely-accused-classmates-of-cutting-her-hair/2019/09/30/ad0cbd92-e390-11e9-a331-2df12d56a80b_story.html

The sixth-grade girl at a private Virginia school who accused three classmates last week of forcibly cutting her hair now says the allegations were false, according to a statements from the girl’s family and the principal at Immanuel Christian School in Springfield. School officials met with the girl and her family Monday morning before releasing the statement.

The 12-year-old, who is African American, said three white boy students held her down in a school playground a week ago during recess, covered her mouth, called her insulting names and used scissors to cut her hair.

The grandparents of the girl, who are her legal guardians, released an apology Monday.

“To those young boys and their parents, we sincerely apologize for the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused,” the grandparents wrote in a statement. “To the administrators and families of Immanuel Christian School, we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school. To the broader community, who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust.”

“We understand there will be consequences and we’re prepared to take responsibility for them,” the statement continued. “We know that it will take time to heal, and we hope and pray that the boys, their families, the school and the broader community will be able to forgive us in time.”

Messages left for family members seeking additional comment were not immediately returned.

The school’s principal, Stephen Danish, also issued a statement, and sent an email to parents and community members.

“We can now confirm that the student who accused three of her classmates of assault has acknowledged that the allegations were false. We’re grateful to the Fairfax County Police Department for their diligent work to investigate these allegations,” Danish wrote. “While we are relieved to hear the truth and bring the events of the past few days to a close, we also feel tremendous pain for the victims and the hurt on both sides of this conflict. We recognize that we now enter what will be a long season of healing.”

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Fairfax police launched an investigation into the incident last week after they were contacted by the girl’s family. The department said that they can not comment on developments because the subjects involved are all juveniles.

Immanuel Christian is a private K-10 National Blue Ribbon school with 469 students. Just under half the pupils are students of color, according to information provided by Immanuel officials. African American students account for 11 percent of the school population. Tuition for middle school students is $11,500. Vice President Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, teaches art part-time at the school to students in grades one through five.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908184)

edit: c/p pl0x

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908198)

on the bright side, libs will internalize the lessons from this and stop jumping to conclusions

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908215)

can't find the victim on the accuser's side now that they owned up to the obvious hoax, help me with the math here

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908209)

https://www.gofundme.com/f/34t65-help

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908257)

Jacki Lindblom

Laura Browning

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908325)

@TalbertSwan

· Sep 28

What does @KarenPence, wife of @VP, the Second Lady of the United States, have to say about 3 racist white boys attacking a 12-year-old Black girl, Amari Allen, at the private Christian school she teaches at?

So far, her silence is deafening.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908411)

Even if the boys were guilty, who gives a fuck what that woman says, and why would she need to comment?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908683)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immanuel-christian-school-amari-allen-boys-accused-pinning-down-black-girl-cutting-her-dreadlocks-2019-09-28

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/three-middle-schoolers-allegedly-pinned-down-black-girl-and-cut-off-her-dreadlocks/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908997)

Miss lee Ding 1 day ago No surpize that this was a Christian school. Intolerance 101 is likely the first class of each day for those students. Betsy Devos will have it as a national teaching goal in no time.

Out_Trump 2 days ago Looks like we have three future Supreme Court nominees. White, check. Bullying, check. Racist, check. Good start boyz.

grif-grif 2 days ago First of all, charge them with a hate crime. It was a pre-meditated, orchestrated, hate crime!! Secondly, sue the church for not protecting that little girl. Thirdly, I know some young boys that would love to meet with those who assaulted this girl and really show them what a beat down really looks like. As Madea would say; "They need to be got!!" I am convinced that that is the only way you can get the message across that racism has no place in this society, let alone in a church, is to beat it into them. (Hope my pastor isn't reading this). I also think the church should lose its tax-exempt status, permanently. The offended family seems to be very forgiving, as Christians should be. I am quite sure Mrs. Pence would call those boys some "very fine people.

ThomasPaine 2 days ago Charming. Ahhhh, Christians. Maybe they thought she was a witch. Regardless, this seems a clear cut case where castration is in order. Nip the three boys' aggressive behavior in the bud, as it were.

augustinesreign 2 days ago Crazy! Expulsion and hate crime felonies all around. Little psychos need to be properly punished. Parents need to sue the school and the lil criminals' guardians.

jct4 2 days ago (Edited) The little girl feels sorry for the bullies because she thinks something bad must have happened to them. I’m wagering that the bad thing is the attitudes are instilled by family and friends. Immanuel is an evangelical conservative school, conservative enough for Mother Pence to teach there, so I expect there’s white supremacist thinking going on there.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4353473&forum_id=2#38908794)